St. Vincent's New LP Actor Set for Spring, Clinches 2009 as Year with Better Music Than 2008

In the recent slew of releases to actually look forward to glares at 2008], [St. Vincent -- also known as Annie Clark -- will release Actor, the follow-up to her 2007 debut Marry Me. Clark herself stepped behind the boards alongside John Congleton (who has worked with Modest Mouse and The Polyphonic Spree) and enlisted a few handfuls of musicians (who have also worked with famous people like Sufjan Stevens and Philip Glass). The album drops May 5 via 4AD.

Since I have a massive girl crush on St. Vincent, this exciting news has already influenced me to start happily waving in merging cars left and right. 2009 is indeed looking up so far.

Actor tracklisting:

1. The Strangers
2. Save Me From What I Want
3. Neighbours
4. Actor Out Of Work
5. Black Rainbow
6. Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood
7. Marrow
8. The Bed
9. The Party
10. Just The Same But Brand New
11. The Sequel
02.27.09 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop Festival)
03.18.09 - Austin, TX - Central Presbytarian Church (SXSW)
03.20.09 - Austin, TX - Antone's (SXSW)

Critically Acclaimed TV on the Radio Set out on a (Presumably) Critically Acclaimed Tour of Hit-And-Miss Canada and Critically Derided USA

Although sensible publications like The Guardian and Consequence of Sound normally share little in common with bottom-feeding taste-lechers like MTV and Rolling Stone, at the end of 2008 they all agreed on one thing: TV on the Radio’s Dear Science (TMT Review) was the best album of the year. How TVOTR finally managed to shift the media’s focus from Kyp Malone’s almost entirely hair-consumed face to their music will forever remain a mystery. Regardless of how they pulled it off, TVOTR are taking a victory lap around the USA and Canada beginning in May, sandwiched by an April performance at Coachella and a June show at Bonnaroo. But remember: Staring too long into Malone’s beard has the same affect on your eyes as a solar eclipse, so either bring your own safety goggles to the show or prepare to be gouged at the merch table.
04.18.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella
05.12.09 - Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
05.16.09 - Austin, TX - Stubbs
05.18.09 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
05.22.09 - Oakland, CA - Fox Oakland Theatre
05.23.09 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
05.25.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Malkin Bowl
05.27.09 - Edmonton, Alberta - Edmonton Events Center
05.28.09 - Calgary, Alberta - Macewan Hall
05.29.09 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Louis' Pub
06.02.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy
06.03.09 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
06.04.09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
06.05.09 - New York, NY - Central Park Summer Stage
06.08.09 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
06.11-09 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo

RIP: Kelly Groucutt, bass player of Electric Light Orchestra

From Kelly Groucutt's official website:

It is with great sadness that I have to inform the fans that Kelly Groucutt died on the afternoon of 19th February 2009 of a heart attack. Our hearts and thoughts go out to Anna and Kelly's family. He touched all of our lives with his love, kindness and generosity as well as his talent for music and song. He was a true and wonderful friend who loved every second of life and he will be greatly missed by us all.

- Kelly Groucutt official website
- Kelly Groucutt Wikipedia entry
- Electric Light Orchestra official website

Legendary L.A. Rockers X Wanna Spend AT LEAST One Night with You

This spring, seminal L.A. punk band X are bringing all the sunshine, ocean breezes, and, um, publicity photos of a bunch of pals hanging out in an exhumed grave that one typically associates with southern California to their fans in more tanning and grave-digging challenged areas of the United States (and England!). X may have formed over 30 years ago, but they still bring a blistering, high-energy show, and it features all original members of the band, including Exene Cervenka, John Doe, D.J. Bonebrake, and Billy Zoom.

But sometimes one night just isn't enough. I mean, how can you go back to your workaday routine when you've just had the raw power of rock ‘n’ roll unleashed in front of your very eyes? Well, if you are a resident of Seattle, Denver, or New York (so, pretty much half the tour), you don't have to! You can celebrate not one, but TWO, maybe even THREE (if you live in NY) nights of X-cess. There are also a couple of promising festival dates, such as the Breeders-curated All Tomorrow's Parties in England and the Cure/Paul McCartney/The Killers Coachella.

In other X-related news, co-frontman John Doe is embarking on a tour in support of his upcoming covers album with The Sadies, Country Club, just before X hits the road.

X dates:
04.09.09 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
04.10.09 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
04.11.09 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
04.14.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
04.15.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
04.19.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
05.15.09 - Minehead, England - All Tomorrow's Parties
05.29.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05.30.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05.31.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

John Doe solo dates:
02.28.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo
03.05.09 - Brisbane, AUS - The Troubadour
03.06.09 - Sydney, AUS - Manning Bar at Sydney University
03.07.09 - Melbourne AUS - The Corner Hotel
03.08.09 - Melbourne, AUS - Golden Plains Festival

Andrew Bird Touring Noble Beast; Useless Creatures Less Relevant But May Find Some Worth On Tour

You know those people who find it necessary to serenade you by whistling some stupid tune? Well, they suck. Pretty much the only person who should be allowed to whistle is Andrew Bird. Fresh off yet another solid release, Andrew Bird is doing what we've come to expect of musicians nowadays: touring in support of his new album Nobel Beast (TMT Review). For those of you who do not fancy whistling (or lyrics in general), you should pickup Nobel Beast, as it comes packaged with a bonus instrumental disc titled Useless Creatures, which, despite its name, finds plenty of use for activities such as writing articles for TMT. So yeah, we may be a little late to the party on this one, as Bird has indeed already been touring, but there are still many dates to come. Check the list below to see if Bird has neglected your hometown or if you are one of the lucky ones who can see Dr. Stringz himself in concert.

Andrew Bird tourdates:
02.19.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
02.20.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
02.21.09 - Portland, OR - The Roseland Theater
02.23.09 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theater
02.24.09 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
02.25.09 - Murray, UT - The Murray Theater
02.26.09 - Denver, CO - The Ogden Theater
02.27.09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
03.15.09 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
03.17.09 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
03.21.09 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
03.22.09 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
03.23.09 - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Oxford
04.03.09 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
04.04.09 - Montreal, QC - Le National
04.05.09 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
04.07.09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
04.10.09 - Chicago, IL - The Civic Opera House
04.11.09 - Minneapolis, MN - The State Theater

Casiotone For the Painfully Alone Goes Gospel, Prepares Two New Records

Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, a.k.a. Owen Ashworth, will release two separate records in the next two months. The first of the two, Advance Base Battery Life, is a collection of B-sides and rarities from Ashworth's back catalog, set for release on March 10. It will include tracks from both older 7-inches and more recent projects, including the Bruce Springsteen tribute record he did with his bro’s Concern project.

The second release is a brand new record titled Vs. Children, due April 7. Aswhroth’s fifth album will feature a sound "decidedly absent of the battery-powered keyboards" and "arrangements built largely on the sounds of piano, organ, Mellotron, and acoustic percussion, both live and sampled." Casiotone’s label Tomlab also says Vs. Children will be “like gospel music, if you can imagine that most of the choir has gone home for the evening and the church musical director is just really into samplers.” So, this record will not only make you cry, but it will also make you shout for joy! Shy Kids Around the World Rejoice!

Tracklisting for Advance Base Battery Life:

1. Old Panda Days (w/ Nick Krgovich)
2. Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show (version)
3. White Corolla
4. White on White
5. Holly Hobby
6. Lonesome New Mexican Nights
7. The Only Way To Cry
8. It's A Crime
9. Missoula
10. Hot Boyz (w/ Dear Nora)
11. Born in the U.S.A. (w/ Concern)
12. Streets of Philadelphia (w/ Concern)
13. Graceland
14. Sunday St
15. Voice of the Hospital

Tracklisting for Vs Children:

1. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone vs. Children
2. Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Ace Hardware in
Libertyville, IL
3. Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)
4. Natural Light
5. Traveling Salesman's Young Wife Home Alone on Christmas in Montpelier, VT
6. Man O' War
7. Northfield, MN
8. Killers
9. Harsh The Herald Angels Sing
10. You Were Alone
11. White Jetta

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